'For the person or persons that hold dominion, can no more combine with the keeping up of majesty the running with harlots drunk or naked about the streets, or the performances of a stage player, or the open violation or contempt of laws passed by themselves than they can combine existence with non-existence'.

- Benedict de Spinoza. Political Treatise. 1677.




Monday, December 22, 2014

Philosophical Grammar 95


95. Intention and intentionality. –

“The thought that p is the case doesn’t presuppose that it is the case: yet I can’t think that something is red if the colour red does not exist.” Here we mean the existence of a red sample as part of our language.



‘The thought that p is the case doesn’t presuppose that it is the case’?

the thought that p is the proposal that p –

the proposal that p is the case – obviously doesn’t presuppose that it is the case

a proposition is a proposal – open to question – open to doubt – uncertain

‘that p’ – is uncertain

‘yet I can’t think that something is red if the colour red does not exist’?

what exists is what is proposed –

if the color red is proposed – the colour red exists

and there will be any number of proposals – propositions –

to account for – to explain – the colour red

in the absence of any description – what exists is the unknown

our world is propositional

‘Here we mean the existence of a red sample as part of our language’ ?

yes – we can propose a ‘red sample’ –

and if we do – the proposal – the proposition – is ‘part of our language’

and then the question – what does the proposal – the proposition amount to?

in response to this we can have any number of proposals

and any proposal – any proposition –

is open to question – open to doubt –

is uncertain



© greg t. charlton. 2014.